It’s that time of the year, for a change, you make sure your
mom gets up on time. You are thrilled at the sight of Aaron and Umesh Yadav getting
the Aussie lower-order 'Kangarooing'. But the presence of a quirky Steve Smith at
the other end haunts your mind. Still, there’s a hunch that the Indian openers
will be out in the middle in the blink of an eye.
You yawn at every single punch unleashed Ryan Harris and the
eyelids slowly begin to zoom out. And suddenly a scream.. “big appeal!” What
did you miss? Pitched outside the leg stump hitting the tenth stump and a loud
cry from the Indian fielders. The loitering eleven Indian men on the field with
two Aussie batsmen pinching every run under the nose of the fielders hurts you
even more.
Time is 6:15am. It’s been an hour and a quarter into the day’s
play. No joy yet for the fan in you. Your mom starts bugging you: “Why are you killing precious time in the
morning”. You’re irate. Enough of this. Off to bed.
Roll this way and that side; you are caught in a catch 22
situation. What if the Indian bowlers bundle out the Aussies and you miss the action?
By the time you convince yourself to get out of the bed in a semi-sleep mode, lunch
time.
Consume hot idlis with chutney and there is a disinterest in
the expert chat during the break as none of the segment features a good Indian
performer. It’s Smith & Co. all the way. Time for a quick nap.
Earthquake. No. Dad shakes you up. Jump out and head straight
towards the TV set. A commercial is being telecast and it’s longer than usual. The
prayers are on. Knowing India’s record against tail-enders, your wistful heart
is hoping for the next image to be that of Vijay and Dhawan striding out with a
bat in hand. But the clock is 8:45am.
Your mind now thinks ‘what if it’s a drinks break?’ The mind always scores over the heart. Warrior
Smith gone but you realise the Aussie tail is as long as that of Lord Hanuman.
Eyes off the scoreboard! The cameras are fixed to the Aussie
dressing room. Smith is still in his colours and even worse Nathan Lyon is
practising his straight drives! Misery of the fans and Indian players carry on!
Lost sleep, patience
and interest. Again the thought – enough
of this.
Smiles all over. Australia bowled out? No. They have
declared. Anyway the most favourite part of every fan is close by – India’s
batting.
And an hour later at stumps you set your mobile alarm @ 5am.
Kohli, Vijay, Rahane all to bat. What about Dhawan? He is back in the hut and
you know Pujara is struggling. You are mentally prepared to lose sleep to keep
track of the travails of Indian batting down under.
Are you one among the ‘you’
mentioned in this?
BAGGS BLABBERS,
S. Bagawati Prasad
